Joint ventures and
associate in business will bring many opportunities for the development and success
of business. However, it is not easy to choose partners to help maximize the
value for business, especially in this difficult time. That is the reason why
we should conduct the due diligence research before
making any decision.

According to experts,
there are enterprises that growing very fast because they choose the right
partners involving in the value chain, but also there are well-known enterprises
in the market that have to face with a lot of difficulties due to choosing
wrong partners. Therefore, how to choose the right business partners, financial
partners and strategic shareholders to help enterprises overcome difficulties,
develop faster and more sustainable are always issues that concerned by many
business leaders.

In challenging
conditions as at present, the economic situation in Vietnam and the
world places great influence on the partner selection of companies. Currently,
the debt crisis in some European countries caused the demand for import from
these countries dropped sharply. Therefore, Vietnam enterprises must seek new
markets. In this situation, companies should restructure their operations,
choosing to produce products that are suitable with the new markets.

There are two key
partners that companies need to keep in mind, they are financial partner and
business partner. Depending on the objectives of the companies that they will
choose the right partner. Normally, with the stable economic condition,
companies often choose strategic partner.

However, in difficult
situation such as the present, the choice of partners is made for short term so
that the company could be able to change and adapt according to the general
environmental condition. Many experts believe that, in difficult times, good
cooperation will help enterprises to stand firm and “over storm” successfully.

Hence, conducting
the due diligence research
helps us to have a clearer vision of partners before deciding to cooperate with
them in business, especially partners in foreign countries where you still feel
strange. Whether choosing business partner or financial partner, companies
should be cautious. They should learn from the Japanese companies. Before
deciding to cooperate with a partner, Japanese companies often study the
partners very thoroughly. Therefore, the cooperation project of Japanese
companies often succeeds up to 85%.

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848
3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

International Finance
Corporation, the private lending arm of the World Bank, is partnering a
Singapore-based private equity firm to invest in Gia Lai Electricity JSC (GEC),
one of Vietnam’s largest private-sector independent small hydroelectric power
producers.

IFC together with
a private equity fund based in Singapore proposes to invest up to 36% equity
stake in GEC, according to its investment disclosure. The investment is meant
to support GEC’s renewableenergy development plans in
Vietnam.

The quantum of
investment as also the name of the PE investor were undisclosed.

GEC is 87% controlled by
Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC), a Vietnamese conglomerate founded by Mr Dang Van
Thanh in 1979. TTC is Vietnam’s largest private sugar manufacturer. It also has
79 MW biomass power plant portfolio owned by its various sugar business units.

Mr. Thanh was also the
founder and chairman for 20 years of Sacombank, one of the largest commercial
banks in Vietnam.

TTC has identified its
next growth opportunity in renewable energy, and set a medium-term strategy to
grow GEC into a leading renewable energy business in Vietnam. GEC is thus also
considering wind and solar projects in
addition to hydel power plants, the filing said.

Founded in 1989,
GEC owns and operates 15 existing hydro power projects totaling 84
MW in installed capacity. Majority of its portfolio comprises small hydro power
projects (HPPs), ranging from 0.3MW to 16MW.

GEC’s business model
consists of the development and acquisition of small HPPs, wind and solarprojects. While GEC’s
ow

GEC is located in Gia
Lai province, in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Many of GEC’s existing small
hydro power projects are located in the same province. GEC also has several
projects located in different provinces of Vietnam, mainly in the central area
of Vietnam.

IFC has been quite
active in investing, both debt and equity, in Vietnam as also the East Asian
region. Some of its recent proposed investments include a $20-million
commitment in Canadian Solar for its Vietnam foray and an acquisition financing
loan for Golden Towers in the telecom space.

Canadian company CMX
Renewable Energy Inc has sought a license to build a 150-megawatt solar powerplant in
the central province of Ninh Thuan at an estimated cost of $150 million,
newswire Thanhniennews.com reported.

CMX is the latest
foreign investor to have expressed interest in setting up a solar energyproduction unit in Vietnam after
the government said that it is drafting policies to encourage private
investment in the sector.

According to one of the
plans being considered by the government, state company Electricity
of Vietnam and other electricity distributors will be obliged to buy all the
output from solar power plants in 10-20 years, the government’s website reported.

The country’s first
solar power plant is expected to start functioning next year. It is a
19.2-megawatt plant being built in the central province of Quang Ngai by
Vietnamese investor Thien Tan Group at an estimated VND862 billion ($36.12
million).

Last year South
Korea’s SolarPark Korea sought to build a 300-megawatt plant in another central
province, Ha Tinh, at $650 million.

Another Korean
investor, Hanwha, also reportedly plans to invest $200 million in developing a
100-200-megawatt plant in Thua Thien-Hue.

GotIt!, a Startup, a Mobile
App which is built on the question – answer foundation for a long time has been
presented in the top 10 educational apps on App Store in the US. GotIt! has
received 9 million USD from Capricorn Investment Group. Investors of GotIt! are
also the people who invest in companies creating products that have changed the
world such as Tesla Motor, SpaceX, and PlanetLabs. They believe that GotIt!
will become “the next big thing” when GotIt! provides services in the areas
beyond education.

One other education startup
which is ELSA – teaching English pronunciation, has just passed 1,200
competitors to win first prize at SXSWedu – a competition in education
technology startup, organized in the United States. This application uses
artificial intelligence technology to help users improve their English
pronunciation.

And yet, a different
startup which is Monkey Junior, specializing in foreign language teaching has
won the competition “GIST Tech-I 2016” held in the US after passing more than
1,000 competitors from 104 countries in the world. This is the startup contest
initiated by the US government and received the backing of Mark Zuckerberg –
CEO of Facebook – as well as many powerful individuals in Silicon Valley.

Belongs to the EdTech
field, which is attracting the attention of Vietnamese startup community,
Monkey Junior application is available on App Store, Google Play and Amazon
with a large number of users from the US (accounted for 43%), Vietnam (
10-20%), Canada, France… Although this app aims to teach foreign languages, the
point to make up the difference for Monkey Junior is that the teaching contents
are directed at children, especially children under 6 years old.

We have to mention one
other EdTech which is Code4Startup. Code4Startup is the online training website.
Although training on programming is not new, the basic difference of
Code4Startup is that it is not theoretical teaching, Code4Startup goes straight
into practice by guiding learners to build real applications. Hence,
Code4Startup has successfully calling for capital on KickStarter.

The common point of this
4 startups is that the project have high applicability, developing towards
EdTech (educational technology) and “father” of them are all Vietnamese: GotIt!
Of Dr Tran Viet Hung; Elsa was founded by Van Dinh Hong Vu Ngo Thuy Ngoc Tu;
Monkey Junior of Dao Xuan Hoang and Code4Startup of Leo Trieu (Trieu Quang
Anh).

Movement for startup
towards EdTech (educational technology) are blooming and the fund as well as
foreign investors are increasingly appreciating Edtech in Vietnam.

Every year, Vietnamese
spent 3-4 billion USD to send their children to study abroad and the market for
online education is very potential on a large scale. Vietnam is a country of
more than 22 million pupils and students, is the large customer market that
many education companies want to explore. On the other hand, the introduction
of this community-based projects to apply in reality is very consistent with
preference and development trend of modern education, easy to be welcomed by
parents and students in Vietnam.

In addition to the
potential of the market, international investors believe that the Vietnam
startups in general and EdTech startups in particular have been contributed
actively to the social advancement, improve community knowledge and update the
world’s new trends in Vietnam; while also contributing to the economic
development of the country. Similarly, in the world, such EdTech startups as
the Knewton, Coursera, Udemy, Duolingo… are the clear proof of this.

The million dollars
online training market has been receiving special attention of foreign
investors. By the end of 2016, Vietnam had 309 investment projects in the
fields of education and training with total registered capital of over 767
million USD.

Apax English is an
example. Recently, ChungDahm Learning Education Corporation (Korea) and Egroup
Education JSC have signed a memorandum of cooperation for an additional
investment of of 10 million USD for English training in Vietnam. Earlier,
ChungDahm Learning and Egroup have brought the Asian’s leading children English
program to Vietnam with the brand “Apax”.

From the success of Apax
English, many cooperation and investment projects in education are increasingly
powerful. Next, there will be the project of SK Telecom (under the SK Group,
one of the 3 largest Korean group), bringing the school of programming using
intelligent robot to Vietnam. It will become the first cooperation in the
education sector with Egroup.

With the above positive
signals, hopefully that in the coming time, Vietnam education market will
continue to receive “new wind” from the funds and foreign investors.

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at
email: ant@antconsult.vn or
tel: +848 3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit
www.antconsult.vn

In fact, Quang Nam
province is an ideal destination for investors at home and abroad. There were
presence and long-term commitment of the major investors such as Truong Hai
Auto, Suntory – Pepsico, Vietnam Brewery VBL, Inax sanitary equipment,
Groz-Beckert textile equipment and famous travel brands such as The Nam Hai,
Montgomerie Links golf course, Victoria, GoldenSand, Palm Garden…

Compared to many
localities, Quang Nam has great advantages in attracting investment. Firstly,
the province has strategic geographical location with an area of 10,438 km2,
located in the middle of Vietnam, belongs to the key economic zone in central
Vietnam. The north bordering on Da Nang – the commercial, services and training
centers of Central region; the south bordering on Quang Ngai province; the west
bordering on Laos; located on the East – West Economic Corridor, convenient for
road transportation to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and sea transportation
to other countries of the ASEAN region.

The strategic location,
plus complete transportation infrastructure with many kinds of road, railway,
airline, sea belong to the national and international traffic routes, creating
favorable conditions for Quang Nam province to attract major investors in the
world.

As reported by the
People’s Committee of Quang Nam province, the province currently has 8
industrial zones and 50 industrial clusters. The industrial parks and
industrial clusters are located on the main traffic routes, with large area.
The infrastructure and telecommunications utility are fully meet the needs of
investment projects. As for waste water treatment system, most industrial zones
in the province of Quang Nam have wastewater treatment systems; solid waste
treatment collection systems as prescribed.

In addition, the social
infrastructure and other utility services such as schools, hospitals, hotels,
restaurants, amusement parks in the province of Quang Nam are basically meet
the needs of investors and citizens. As reported by the Department of Culture –
Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province, there are more than 5,436 hotel rooms
that satisfy international standard, including many major brands (concentrated
in coastal areas), contributing to bring Quang Nam to become an attractive
tourism destination of the central region.

So far, Quang Nam has
attracted 126 FDI projects with total registered capital of 5.5 billion USD
from investors from around the world such as Korea, Japan, Singapore, US,
China, France, Germany, Italy…

Another highlight of the
investment attraction policies of the province is that the investors have the
full right to choose and decide to implement the project in the appropriate
investment model. Moreover, investors are given the investment incentives
stipulated by the Government, including the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone and
15/18 districts in the list of investment incentives stipulated by the
Government on the premises, corporate income tax and import tax…

According to the Public
Administration and Investment Promotion Center of Quang Nam Province, the newly
established enterprises from investment projects in difficult economic
condition areas in Chu Lai Open Economic Zone; investment projects in the
fields of high-tech agriculture, scientific research, technological
development, education and training, vocational training, environment… will be
applied the corporate income tax rate of 10% for 15 years since the taxable
income arises; ; are exempt from corporate income tax for 4 years and reduce
50% of the tax payable in the next 9 years.

Enterprises investing in
the industrial zones in
such districts as Duy Xuyen, Dai Loc, Que Son and Phu Ninh are applied the
corporate income tax rate of 17% for 10 years, are exempt from corporate income
tax and reduction of 50% tax payable in the next 4 years.

Also, Quang Nam also
apply competitive prices and depending on land investment sectors, projects may
be exempted from land rent during 11 years, 15 years or during the term of the
project. In addition to the general provisions, the large-scale projects with
important implications and will be coordinated with your PPC investment
research applied to the Government for specific policies.

Also, Quang Nam province
also apply competitive land prices and depending on investment sectors,
projects may be exempted from land rent for 11 years, 15 years or during the
implementation of the project. In addition to the general provisions, for the
large-scale projects with important implications, the Provincial People’s
Committees will coordinate with investors to study and submit to the Government
for specific policies.

According to the Quang
Nam People’s Committee Chairman, in the trend of deeper integration, Quang Nam
is constantly developing, changing appearance, became the land of potential and
investment opportunities. Many synchronous solutions are being implemented to
improve the investment environment, which focused on administrative reform. In
particular, the introduction of the Public Administration and Investment
Promotion Center of Quang Nam Province, with flexible and quick mechanisms,
have demonstrated the determination to build friendly image of Quang Nam
province, becoming the reliable destination for investors.

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848
3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

Ho Chi Minh City has earmarked VND30 billion ($1.3
million) for a startup investment fund which is expected to provide local
entrepreneurs with the funds they need to develop their products, services and
technologies.

The fund, which has been
raised from individual and institutional investors, is projected to grow to
VND100 billion by 2020.

Vietnam is aware that in
order to maintain economic momentum, it cannot afford to fall behind in the
technology race.

Under increasing
pressure to modernize the economy, the Vietnamese government has adopted a
series of reforms. In recent years it has encouraged the private sector, in
collaboration with state-sponsored sources, to set up venture capital funds so that domestic
businesses have more funding options to turn to when they need capital.

IT companies, for
example, those developing mobile and web-based applications or those applying
advanced technology in agriculture,
are welcome to apply for loans from the city’s investment fund, said Truong Ly
Hoang Phi, head of the city's startup support center.

Phi added that the fund
will be prioritized for those working in the city’s key industries.

This is the city’s first startup investment fund aimed at promoting
technological innovation among the city’s business community, said Pham Hong
Son, president of Ho Chi Minh City’s Youth Union.

The fund was co-founded
by the state-owned Ho Chi Minh City Finance and Investment Company and the
Saigon – Hanoi Commercial Bank with the aim of offering incentives to help
entrepreneurs develop their ideas.

Source:
E.vnexpress

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at
email: ant@antconsult.vn or
tel: +848 3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit
www.antconsult.vn

HCMC – JA Solar Hong
Kong Investment, a major manufacturer of high-performance solar power products,
will develop a solar cell production project worth over US$1 billion in the
northern province of Bac Giang.

According to Saigon-Bac
Giang Industrial Park Corporation (SBG), the investor of Quang Chau Industrial
Park (IP), the Hong Kong firm has inked an in-principal deal with SBG to lease
88 hectares of land at the IP to build a solar cell plant.
With the land lease, the Vietnamese firm can earn over VND1 trillion.

JA Solar, which
currently has eight production plants worldwide, regards its investment in Vietnam as
a breakthrough in the low-cost supply chain and a typical investment in the
field of solar cell production, said SBG, a subsidiary of Kinh Bac City
Development Holding Corporation.

Nguyen Van Linh,
chairman of Bac Giang Province, said at the signing ceremony last week that the
province would facilitate JA Solar in terms of legal and customs procedures,
human resources and infrastructure so that it could put into operation its
project soon.

Once licensed, the
project of JA Solar will become the 16th investment at 600-hectare Quang Chau
IP. It is also expected to generate jobs for more than 3,000 people.

Department of Planning
and Investment of Binh Dinh province has just granted certificate of investment
registration for Seldat Vietnam Co., Ltd (investors from Canada) to invest in
Seldat Vietnam garment factory project in An Hoa village, Nhon Khanh commune,
An Nhon town, with a total investment of nearly 1.2 million USD.

Accordingly, the project
will invest 5 production lines with designed capacity of 2 million
products/year, products are mainly exported to the US market. The project is
built on an area of 2,440m2 and is expected to be completed and put into
operation in quarter II/2017.

The project is licensed
within the first days of the year so that it can be considered a meaningful
gift for the efforts of the Binh Dinh province in attracting investment. BinhDinh province has
consistently implemented reforms, simplification of administrative procedures,
thereby contributing to create an open investment environment, attracting
investors to come to the province. Up to date, Binh Dinh has 69 FDI projects,
total registered capital of 783 million USD, mainly are investors coming from
potential economies in the world like the US, China, Japan, France, Korea,
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand….

In 2017, in order to
continue to be an attractive destination for investors, besides the
administrative reform, leaders of Binh Dinh province will strengthen dialogue
with businesses in order to
listen to their desire, disassemble any difficulties and obstacles to improve
the investment and business environment, promoting economic development of the
locality.

Currently, the
Department of Planning and Investment of Binh Dinh is finalizing the draft
scheme for implementation of the model “one door, one door interconnection”,
preparing to submit to the leaders of Binh Dinh province for consideration and
promulgation. At the same time, the E-Regulations project (electronic
regulation system). The website has been completed, fully published the
procedures relating to foreign investment so that investors can access and
search for information about the investment procedures when investing in Binh
Dinh.

According to Director of
Investment Promotion Centre (IPC) of Binh Dinh, Binh Dinh province’s goal is to
continue to invest in development of Nhon Hoi Economic Zone and industrial
zones as planned for these places to become seeds of the province’s growth in
the sectors such as industry, tourism services, urban; create motivation and
basis so that until 2020, Binh Dinh province can basically become developed
province of the central region.

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848
3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

Street
lanterns win the hearts of many tourists to Hoi An. Photo by VnExpress/Tran
Viet Anh

Hoi An, the much loved
ancient town in central Vietnam, has started a new project to use solar power for its
major attractions, with funding from the German government.

The $147,000 project will
set up solar panels at the one-hectare (2.5-acre) Hoai River Square to provide
a 55 kWh source for sound and lighting systems at street arts programs,
entertainment centers, street lanterns and the iconic 400-year-old Japanese
bridge nearby, officials said.

The German government
will cover 90 percent of the cost, while Hoi An and its German twin city
Wernigerode will chip in the rest.

Once a popular trade
port in the region, Hoi An is now one of the most peaceful, greenest towns in
the country, drawing tourists to its picturesque wooden houses, pagodas,
street-side eateries and hundreds of tailor shops.

A travel forum run by
U.S. magazine USA Today described Hoi An as one of 10 most beautiful places in
Southeast Asia, a place where one can find “tranquility and timelessness.”

“Best Day on Earth,” a
new book from the UK travel publisher Rough Guides, listed Hoi An’s full-moon
festival among the world’s most extraordinary travel experiences for the
hundreds of lanterns that glow along alleys and river banks around town.

The solar power project is
hoped to help the city develop sustainable tourism that is suitable with its
strategy to become an eco-friendly destination.

Energy experts from the
World Bank proposed a program to help Ho Chi Minh City develop solar power
systems at a meeting on Tuesday, Saigon Times reported.

Solar panels are used to
produce renewable energy at the photovoltaic park in Europe. Photo by Reuters

To start with, the bank
will work with the city to carry out an overall assessment of the benefits of
installing solar energy systems on
rooftops, provide technical support for local energy experts and find financial
resources as well as equipment suppliers to implement the program.

Last year, Vietnam’s
largest economic hub consumed about 3,575 MW of electricity, of which renewable
energy accounted for 3.96 MW, or 0.1 percent.

The city had set a
target of increasing its use of renewable energy to 1.74 percent, equivalent to
96 MW, by 2020.

To reach this goal, Ho
Chi Minh City needs the World Bank's program to be launched by 2018 at the
latest, Le Van Khoa, the city's vice mayor, has said.

Since 2015, the city has
encouraged residents and businesses to invest in solar power systems by
granting a subsidy of VND2,000 ($0.1) per kW used for domestic purposes or sold
to the national electricity grid.

The city’s Power
Corporation is searching for a pricing mechanism from the Vietnamese government
to boost the development of solar power projects.

Vietnam is aiming to
increase residential solar power usage nationwide from 4.3 percent in 2015 to
50 percent in 2050.

Vietnam’s electricity
output during the first eight months of this year has increased by 11.2 percent
to 117.1 billion kilowatt hours (kWh), including 1.2 billion kWh imported from
China, said the country’s utility group EVN said Saturday.

Hydropower plants which
in the first eight months of 2016 generated 32.7 percent of Vietnam's
electricity, often face shutdowns during the dry season, causing nationwide
outages. Meanwhile, coal has taken over hydro power as the leading source of
electricity in the country as it has generated 38.03 percent of the total
output so so far this year.

In response to fast
growing demand for power, Vietnam is building more coal-fired thermal plants
and buying electricity from neighboring China.

However, EVN said last
month it stopped buying power from China for the second month in a row.

The state-run group
which started buying electricity from Chinese power plants in the border
province of Yunnan in 2004, expects it will not have to import more power from
the neighboring country in four consecutive months.

EVN plans to import
about 950 million kWh from China to meet the domestic power needs in 2016, down
44 percent from 2015.

EVN said Vietnam's power
output is expected to reach 183 billion kWh this year.

The average energy consumption
in Vietnam grew 13 percent from 2006-2010, and by about 11 percent from
2011-2015, said Le Tuan Phong, deputy head of the General Directorate of
Energy, adding that the country is on the path towards powering itself by 2030.

The country’s power
production is expected to grow at an annual rate of 14 percent between 2015 and
2030.

Vietnam is also
restructuring its power sector by breaking up its retail power monopoly EVN to
develop a competitive retail power market by 2030.

And it is aiming to
generate enough energy to power almost every home by 2020 and increase
residential solar power usage to 50
percent of households nationwide by 2050.